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juushikaThe stats that follow are a tiny bit out of date because I wrote them on Friday before my day of writing began, and it is obviously now Sunday. But that's how it goes.
Took the weekend off from writing again, and it's not as painful as last time—even with Devon out and about for most of the day. My interested in Second Life wanes and waxes these days, but lately it's waxed pretty full as a result of some wonderful new releases and the fact that the grid is actually operational (to think!), so I've been spending my weekend time making outfits and going shopping, yay. ^_^ I also get more interested in SL when I'm feeling a little less antisocial on the whole, so that's probably been part of it. But the text keeps sitting in my head, and I know where I'll go with it when I start again on Monday. I am at the cusp of a verbal battle between the protag and her sister, and even though I know where this battle needs to end up, I'm not sure when or how to bring it there. But because we write best when we write what we know—and since I've a sister of my own—I shall do my best.
Speaking of writing what we know: it seems a bit bizarre to apply that truism to a story where the protagonist is a cat-human hybrid studying magic under a witch in order to help save the kingdom from a vampire threat, but I'm amazed at how true it constantly turns out to be. The plot events are one thing, and honestly I think those are the easiest tales to spin. The magic. The twists, the turns. The nature of the world it takes place in. Races, spells, study. It's things like place and person where we are best served by writing what we know. The first few sections of the story take place in a fertile valley bordered by plains on one side and mountains on the other. A river runs through it and slowly veers west, towards the sea. And while making my reference sketches of the place (and reminding myself why I'm neither artist nor cartographer, because WOW are they ugly), I've been basing the landscape very loosely on the Pacific Northwest--where I live. Why? Because I know this place. I know the weather patterns, I know the landscape, I know what valleys are like and what makes them fertile.
More importantly, the protagonist and some of the important secondary characters are also true to life. This isn't to say that they physically resemble anyone (except that the protag shares the cat ears and tail that I have in Second Life, although if I'm honest I found the freedom to grant the to her in Gaiman's Stardust). In fact, the whole of their mental/emotional responses aren't based strictly on a single person, either. Rather, the key interactions and key traits are often based on things that I have seen happen in my own life. When the protagonist, to use the above example, has a fight with her sister, it's because her sister feels like something else is overshadowing what she believes should be important (and she has a point). Instead of saying "I just wish you loved us/me more" she says "I think you have your priorities wrong." And that's not quite what she means, but anger gets in the way. Does that make sense to anyone else? But the point is, I've seen arguments like that play out ... moreover, I've been in arguments exactly like that with my sister. And while I'm changing subject, character, setting—the things that need to ring of truth are still drawn from little aspects of my own life.
Discovering that has been pretty cool—and it gives me more hope in that story, because I want the veracity to be there. "I still have this uncontrollable urge to go up to people and say: 'My mother left me when I was seven' as though that will explain everything." (from The 10th Kingdom)—which becomes one of the most meaningful moments in the story because it is true—it may be created, it isn't only true in the world of the nine kingdoms, but one of many essential, human truths. And so it has meaning.
Ah, but where was I?
The other roadbump that I really need to get over is character names. I'm bad with names, which is why it always amazes me that Dink, Kuzco, and Alfie all worked out so well. I'm unimaginative, picky, and uncertain. So, currently, my characters are NAME (the protagonist), OTHER NAME (the mentor, and no, I'm not kidding, I really do call her that), VAMPIRE (the... vampire, of course), and tidbits like WOLF and WOLF 2 or GIRL. So far, one single character has a name: the protagonist's mother, whose name is Madge. I've been brainstorming (sometimes with help) on some names, and I think I have VAMPIRE and WOLF [4] pinned down. If y'all want, I can give some character info/sketches and you can throw out names ... or you can throw out names regardless ... or I'll just struggle through them in due time. ^^ But it will be nice to go through the 40k and change all my all-caps to actual words.
Wordcount: 38,229
Previous Accomplishments: Finished with the wolves. Figured out where, and at what pace, to begin the story, so I've jumped back to the very beginning.
Upcoming Challenges: I have a verbal battle to write and I see it posing some difficulties; wouldn't it be nice if my characters had names?
Took the weekend off from writing again, and it's not as painful as last time—even with Devon out and about for most of the day. My interested in Second Life wanes and waxes these days, but lately it's waxed pretty full as a result of some wonderful new releases and the fact that the grid is actually operational (to think!), so I've been spending my weekend time making outfits and going shopping, yay. ^_^ I also get more interested in SL when I'm feeling a little less antisocial on the whole, so that's probably been part of it. But the text keeps sitting in my head, and I know where I'll go with it when I start again on Monday. I am at the cusp of a verbal battle between the protag and her sister, and even though I know where this battle needs to end up, I'm not sure when or how to bring it there. But because we write best when we write what we know—and since I've a sister of my own—I shall do my best.
Speaking of writing what we know: it seems a bit bizarre to apply that truism to a story where the protagonist is a cat-human hybrid studying magic under a witch in order to help save the kingdom from a vampire threat, but I'm amazed at how true it constantly turns out to be. The plot events are one thing, and honestly I think those are the easiest tales to spin. The magic. The twists, the turns. The nature of the world it takes place in. Races, spells, study. It's things like place and person where we are best served by writing what we know. The first few sections of the story take place in a fertile valley bordered by plains on one side and mountains on the other. A river runs through it and slowly veers west, towards the sea. And while making my reference sketches of the place (and reminding myself why I'm neither artist nor cartographer, because WOW are they ugly), I've been basing the landscape very loosely on the Pacific Northwest--where I live. Why? Because I know this place. I know the weather patterns, I know the landscape, I know what valleys are like and what makes them fertile.
More importantly, the protagonist and some of the important secondary characters are also true to life. This isn't to say that they physically resemble anyone (except that the protag shares the cat ears and tail that I have in Second Life, although if I'm honest I found the freedom to grant the to her in Gaiman's Stardust). In fact, the whole of their mental/emotional responses aren't based strictly on a single person, either. Rather, the key interactions and key traits are often based on things that I have seen happen in my own life. When the protagonist, to use the above example, has a fight with her sister, it's because her sister feels like something else is overshadowing what she believes should be important (and she has a point). Instead of saying "I just wish you loved us/me more" she says "I think you have your priorities wrong." And that's not quite what she means, but anger gets in the way. Does that make sense to anyone else? But the point is, I've seen arguments like that play out ... moreover, I've been in arguments exactly like that with my sister. And while I'm changing subject, character, setting—the things that need to ring of truth are still drawn from little aspects of my own life.
Discovering that has been pretty cool—and it gives me more hope in that story, because I want the veracity to be there. "I still have this uncontrollable urge to go up to people and say: 'My mother left me when I was seven' as though that will explain everything." (from The 10th Kingdom)—which becomes one of the most meaningful moments in the story because it is true—it may be created, it isn't only true in the world of the nine kingdoms, but one of many essential, human truths. And so it has meaning.
Ah, but where was I?
The other roadbump that I really need to get over is character names. I'm bad with names, which is why it always amazes me that Dink, Kuzco, and Alfie all worked out so well. I'm unimaginative, picky, and uncertain. So, currently, my characters are NAME (the protagonist), OTHER NAME (the mentor, and no, I'm not kidding, I really do call her that), VAMPIRE (the... vampire, of course), and tidbits like WOLF and WOLF 2 or GIRL. So far, one single character has a name: the protagonist's mother, whose name is Madge. I've been brainstorming (sometimes with help) on some names, and I think I have VAMPIRE and WOLF [4] pinned down. If y'all want, I can give some character info/sketches and you can throw out names ... or you can throw out names regardless ... or I'll just struggle through them in due time. ^^ But it will be nice to go through the 40k and change all my all-caps to actual words.
Wordcount: 38,229
Previous Accomplishments: Finished with the wolves. Figured out where, and at what pace, to begin the story, so I've jumped back to the very beginning.
Upcoming Challenges: I have a verbal battle to write and I see it posing some difficulties; wouldn't it be nice if my characters had names?
